Fall Comes Quickly Around Here

Can you believe how fast the Summer has gone by? It truly seems like last week when Church At The Grove was downshifting for June and July by going back to one service and simplifying our set-up and break-down responsibilities. And, now Fall is here again and things are going to be insane around here.

David Odom and Lance Boyd are working on the stage design for August. Russ Butcher is polishing the outline for the August series. Rosemary Kirby is finishing up the children's ministry team schedule for the Fall. Amy Story is getting the final details in place for the community groups. And, I am sitting here in my office typing my thoughts on all of this.

As we approach the next sets of messages, I hope you will see what we are trying to accomplish. We want to create an environment for people to explore faith. In order to do that, we believe it is important for us to talk about issues of faith that impact our daily lives as well. And, the Bible talks about a lot of issues that we deal with on a daily basis. In August, we're going to be covering conflict in our "Bullies" series. In September, we'll be looking at God's creative design of sex in our "Can We Bring Sexy Back?" series. In October, the unseen spiritual world is the topic as we talk about what lurks in the "Shadows". And, we'll wrap up the fall with talking about money in "Rich Man" and what the world is really like in "Poor Man".

Russ and I want you to know what the Bible says about these things... we want you to understand what it means to follow Christ in our daily lives... we want you to know what it means to have biblical faith. So, each Sunday at 10:00am and 11:15am, we will try to cover these topics through the lens of scripture. We will attempt to give you background, explanation, and easy ways to apply the truth of God's word to your lives. And, we will offer all of this in a comfortable environment where you can explore these things at your own pace. Finally, you can be confident in our promise not to embarrass you or those people that you invite to attend with you (okay, so maybe you'll get a little red in the face during "Can We Bring Sexy Back?", but that's just because maybe you've never heard sex talked about in church without the phrase "don't do it" in the same sentence). Have a great week! We'll see you on Sunday!

David Odom and Bryan Hoover . . . starting discussions

If you didn't catch last night's "Atlanta Live" show, you missed out. I am so proud of David Odom and Bryan Hoover... how well they performed with their bands... how well they spoke of their heart for people... and how well they started discussions about what God is doing in their lives and in the lives of those around them. Great job guys!!

If you haven't met David Odom yet or haven't been to a gathering to watch him lead worship, you've missed out. Russ and I love serving with him and are thrilled with what he's been doing to lead Church At The Grove into opportunities to worship God. He has a heart for people and has been working hard in the last couple months to get ready for the fall... he's been spending lots of time with people and taking advantage of opportunities like serving breakfast at Youth Middle School or being interviewed on TV to get people talking about God.

That's what it's all about... when we start discussions about spiritual things and about God... he reveals the truth about himself... he shows up. When people search for God (through questions, discussions, life choices, and God's word), he promises he will reveal himself. Has God revealed himself to you like he has to David and Bryan? If he has, have you let him change your life? And, last of all, are you starting discussions with those around you so they can seek God, too?

Get Ready For Some Awesome Community Groups

My wife, Amy, is helping organize the community groups for the fall... we've already got nine incredible groups for adults starting the week after Labor Day and going through the week before Thanksgiving. You will not want to miss these opportunities to build relationships with others and talk about what God is doing in and around your lives. I can't wait to spend time with ten or twelve other people each week as we talk through the story of God through a curriculum called Starting Point. One or two of the other groups will be using the same curriculum. The other six or seven groups will be using a variety of discussion starting ideas and will be talking through lots of different topics like marriage, parenting, finances, prayer, relationship with God, prayer, and other things. You will have the opportunity to sign up for a group after the Church At The Grove gatherings on Sunday, August 12th and August 19th. Or, if you want to go ahead and get in a group, contact Amy Story and she will get you hooked up with one. Trust me when I say that these community groups will be one of the best ways for you to take the next logical steps in your spiritual journeys... they will provide you with a place to talk through what God is doing in your life... and a some new friends that will help you along in that journey. Have a great night and we'll see you tomorrow morning at 10:30am (remember that next Sunday we start with two gatherings - 10:00am and 11:15am).

I Am A Tour De France Addict

The last two and a half weeks have been rough on me. The Tour de France is on and it usually ends somewhere around two or three in the morning. I've watched about 6 of the full stages and pieces of another 6 or 7. Fortunately, tonight, I am able to watch the end of stage 18 and it's not even 11pm. There are only 5 miles left now, and I've been watching one of the most incredible "dances" for the last 20 minutes. Four riders lead the stage of the race and they are 10 minutes ahead of the "Peleton" (the huge group of more than 100+ riders that's not in the lead). For the last 20 minutes, these four riders have continued to break away from the rest of the group using an incredibly choreographed process of riding. These four riders rotate counter-clockwise through a pattern of diamond shapes... each one taking a 20 second turn at the lead, 20 seconds at the left side, 20 seconds in the "pocket" at the back, 20 seconds at the right side, then back to the lead.

So what's so special about this process... there are four riders that have pulled more than 10 minutes ahead of everyone else. The way they've done that is to create an aerodynamic "flight pattern"... a perfect environment for these four to pull away and win. With this pattern, everyone gets to lead for a while, support for a while, and rest for a while. It is this environment, that allowed these four to have just finished the race with that 10 minute gap still in place.

Paul talked about life being a "race." He said he doesn't have time to look backward or even that much time to look around... he is running for a goal that is ahead of him... he wants to be like Jesus and is not there yet.

Paul was right about life... it is a race. But running it alone is difficult and foolish... that's why Church At The Grove works so hard to create an environment for people to explore faith. As we race, we want an environment that allows people to lead, support, and rest along the way. Our Sunday morning environment is suited for that... people lead parts of it, help create parts of it, and enjoy it on a weekly basis. And as we go through life, we journey as if in a race. Along the journey, several have joined our community and they race with us... we are working on the "choreography" that will allow us to win... but it's coming together quite nicely.

Thanks to Russ Butcher, David Odom, our set-up teams, hospitality teams, children's ministry teams, band, and all the volunteers that create the Sunday environment each week. You are awesome. And, your efforts are working... if you ever get tired or discouraged... drop back into the "pocket" and rest... but while you're back there, look in front of you, and beside you... we're in a race, but we're in it together... and the environment we're creating is the perfect one for you and your friends to explore faith... leading at times, supporting at times, and even resting at times.

How Ducks Learn To Be Ducks

Our house sits on a lake... well, it's not really a lake - more of a pond... alright, with the current drought, it's really more of a puddle... and, if you've seen it recently, it would probably best be described as a natural aquarium. But it does have fish and turtles and ducks, so I call it a lake.

Anyway, about six weeks ago, 10 eggs hatched from the flower bed behind our house and out waddled 10 of the cutest little baby ducks you've ever seen. Since then, two have died, but we've been watching the remaining eight and have seen the harshness of nature up close and personal. When you think of ducks, you probably think of calm, peaceful animals that learn how to be calm and peaceful from their calm and peaceful mamas. But that's not always the case. For some reason, the mama duck at our house has rejected one of the surviving eight ducklings and he now basically lives on his (or her) own. Anytime he gets too close to the mama duck or the other seven ducklings, he gets attacked by his own mom. She warns him with loud quacking first and then proceeds to chase him away and even bite him if she can get close enough.

Now I don't know what this particular baby duck ever did to the mama to make her turn her back on him... but it's pretty sad to watch. Here he is having to learn how to swim (and eventually how to fly) all on his own. He is learning where to find food all on his own. He is learning how to stay away from danger all on his own. He is even having to learn how to protect himself from his own family... all on his own. And, the worst part of it all, is that he and his brothers/sisters are learning how to be ducks from a mama duck that hates one of her own ducklings.

Church At The Grove develops people to follow Jesus and make disciples. We want people to live their lives in such a way that they honor God more and more every day. During this first year, we've come across some people that have been rejected by others in some pretty harsh ways. We've built friendships with people that have a hard time trusting others (especially when it comes to spiritual matters) because they've been pushed aside before or even attacked by people that were close to them. I've talked with people over these last twelve months whose own families turned away from them years ago because they weren't "spiritual people" or because they weren't "walking with Christ." Unfortunately, that's pretty normal behavior in our church culture... we tell people to grow as followers of Jesus, but we tell them they have to do that by separating themselves from the people around them that don't follow Christ. We tell people to love God... but give them permission to hate people that don't love God. We basically set up a war between Christ followers and those that don't follow Christ... those of us that love God are the "good guys" and those that don't love God are the "enemies." We reject people and tell them to figure life out on their own.

My kids asked me why the mama duck is so mean to this one baby... I don't have a good answer for them. I ask myself, why are Christians sometimes so mean to the "rejected" people around us that don't follow Christ or mean to Christ-followers that may be slightly different on non-essential beliefs... I don't have a good answer for myself. God has called us to reflect his love to the world around us. It's tough to do that if we are always attacking someone for something.

Galatians 5:15 (NLT) says "But if instead of showing love among yourselves you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another." Maybe our impact in this culture would be stronger if we were constantly demonstrating God's love through applying the truth in His word instead of constantly being on the attack. And, at the very least, those that are watching us will get a clearer picture of what it means to be a disciple of Christ.

Stories - Volume 3

Last night, 98 people gathered at the home of Marty and Julie Carr for a celebration of what God has been doing in the lives of five people that attend Church At The Grove. Two teenagers and three adults were baptized... just to publicly say to everyone there that they are followers of Jesus. It was an awesome thing to see. But, the greatest part of all of it was to hear their stories (their "tesimonies") of how God is changing them. Each person shared about how they realized they did not have a relationship with Christ, about when they asked God for the forgiveness that Jesus offers, and about what they are learning now about becoming more like Christ. Stories like that are the best part of being part of a church like this. God is at work all around us... and in us. God is using you to help people reconnect with him. It's awesome!!!

By the way, if you missed it... we'll be putting the testimonies on CD and on our website next week... don't miss "Stories - Volume 3".

Changes In Walnut Grove

When I drove into the office this morning, I passed by Walnut Grove's City Hall and saw some of the changes that are happening there. In the lot that this house/city hall sits on was a grove of trees and brush that covered about 1/4 of an acre on the north side. For the last several months, I've seen one of the guys that works for the city up there working around on that piece of the land. He's been cutting trees, clearing brush, and moving things around. But, as you know if you've ever worked with brush-covered land, it's been a long process.

Today, though, it looked different. They had brought in a chipper and basically turned all the limbs, branches, and stumps into mulch. They rounded the edges of this area they've worked on, cut the grass right up to it and basically "finished" the landscaping in that section. And, "overnight" this formerly wasted space has been turned into a beautiful park-like area.

It got me thinking about how God works on our lives. He takes his time and with skillful planning, he begins to clear out the junk from our lives. He takes out pieces of our character (our tendency to lose our temper, selfishness, pride, self-righteousness, or other aspects) and replaces them with character traits that more closely resemble him (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control). He changes us over time. Then, before we even realize it, we're different... in more ways than just how we act. We think different, we feel different, we are different.

That's how God develops us... piece by piece... day by day... removing junk and debris... replacing it with his reflection... until we are "finished." Philippians 1:6 says, "God began a good work in you, and I am sure he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again." God is at work in you... he is developing you... he wants to develop you to be more like him... and he wants you to help others develop, too.

Church At The Grove develops people to follow Jesus and make disciples... maybe God wants to use you to help us do that. You can help with one of our ministry teams to Create the Sunday morning Environment, or build relationships with others by hooking up with a Community Group, or be a part of something in the community to start discussions about God. And, as the years go by, you can celebrate with us as our friends, family, neighbors, and others begin to follow Christ and make disciples.